African

Complete Contest Rules

Organized by Développement international Desjardins (DID) in partnership with the Fédération des coopératives québécoises en milieu scolaire (under the COOPSCO banner), and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)

  1. The DoingMyPart.Coop contest is open to any Canadian citizen between the age of 18 and 30 who is a member of a cooperative. The contest will be held from December 21, 2011 at 00:00:01 (Eastern Standard Time) to February 26, 2012 at midnight (Eastern Standard Time).

HOW TO ENTER

  1. No purchase is required to enter. Enter the contest by answering the 10 multiple-choice questions in the virtual rally and an additional essay-type question. The same eligibility conditions apply for the 10 runner-up prizes and for the 2 grand prizes. Contestants must (1) answer each of the 11 questions (10 multiple-choice and 1 essay-type – maximum 350 words), (2) give correct answers to at least 8 of the 10 multiple-choice questions, (3) provide personal and contact information (first and last name, postal address, telephone number, email address and date of birth), and (4) provide the name of a cooperative of which they are a member. Only one contest entry per person.
  2. The virtual rally must be completed no later than February 26, 2012, at midnight (Eastern Standard Time), on either the www.DoingMyPart.Coop (English) or www.Jefaismapart.Coop (French) microsite.

CHOOSING WINNERS

  1. Eligible candidates are participants who met the four eligibility conditions in Article 2.
  2. The answers of all eligible participants to the essay-type question will be submitted to a pre-selection process based on the four evaluation criteria listed in Article 6. A jury composed of representatives from DID and the contest partners will then evaluate the essays of the pre-selected candidates according to the same four criteria. The ten candidates who rank highest in the jury's evaluation will be designated as winners and will receive the prizes listed in Article 8. The two (2) highest ranking candidates will also win the grand prize mentioned in Article 9.
  3. The four (4) criteria listed below will be used to evaluate the essays submitted in answer to the question: "The United Nations has declared 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives. How do you propose to do your part to put the values of cooperation (democracy, equality, equity, solidarity, mutual aid) into practice? Tell us about an initiative that you could set up and how it would help build a better world.” 
    • Relevance to the theme – (15%)
    • Intensity and clarity of the message (the essay clearly expresses how the participant wishes to do their part and how and why this initiative is pertinent to cooperative values) (50%)
    • Quality of language (spelling, syntax, vocabulary) (20%)
    • Originality (15 %)
  4. All winners will be notified by DID using the information provided in accordance with Article 2 and informed what prizes they have won and how to claim them.

PRIZES

  1. The ten (10) candidates selected by the jury will receive prizes provided by DID and its partners: a travel book about Senegal, a work of artistic craftsmanship made by a Senegalese artisan offered by DID, a book about microfinance, and a $50 gift certificate redeemable at COOPSCO offered by the Fédération des coopératives québécoises en milieu scolaire. The prizes have a value of approximately $125 (per winner).
  2. Two (2) of the ten (10) winners will also win a grand prize, an educational tour in international development lasting 7 to 10 days in Senegal, a French-speaking country in West Africa. The prize shall include the flight, lodging, transfers, visa fees, three meals per day, cancellation insurance, all taxes and the services of resource staff who will greet the two winners in the host country during their stay. The total value of the two stays is CAN $15,000 (all sales taxes included). Each winner is responsible for their own costs related to obtaining a passport, medical insurance and all other personal expenses (ex: vaccinations). The two grand prize winners will be chosen by jury based on pre-established criteria (see Article 9 below).
  3. The destination country for the educational tour and all promotional items awarded as runner-up prizes shall be chosen by DID or, as the case may be, by its partners, and are subject to change.
  4. The names of the 10 winners, along with the answers of the 2 grand prize winners to the essay question, will be posted on the promotional microsite at the end of March 2012 for an indeterminate period of time. They may also be used in various media to promote the contest winners.

OTHER CONDITIONS

  1. No correspondence will be entered into with contestants other than that mentioned in Article 7.
  2. In the case of the educational tours in international development, no transfer, exchange or partial or full monetary compensation will be allowed. All tours shall be made within the year following the awarding of the prize, in function of the availability of the winners and host partners. Any default in undertaking the tour within the prescribed time limit shall free DID and its partners from any responsibility or obligation in relation to a winner.
  3. In the case of prizes provided by the contest partners, no transfer, exchange or partial or full monetary compensation will be allowed.
  4. Contest organizers reserve the right to withdraw any contest entry deemed not to comply with the evaluation criteria.
  5. Winners shall release DID and its partners of all responsibility as to loss or damages of any nature whatsoever that could occur during the awarding, acceptance and/or use of their prizes.
  6. If the contest organizers are unable to award a prize in accordance with the rules, for any reason beyond their control and unrelated to the winner, they shall agree to award a prize of a similar nature and of equal or higher value.
  7. This contest is open to all residents of Canada who are between the age of 18 and 30 and a member of a cooperative, excluding all administrators, directors and employees of DID and its partners (Canadian International Development Agency and COOPSCO) and members of their immediate families through blood relationship, marriage or adoption and all persons living in the same household with such administrators, directors and employees. To be eligible, contestants must be at least 18 years of age and no older than 30 at the time of entering the contest.
  8. All entries submitted become the property of DID which may use them at its discretion.
  9. DID may use for promotional purposes, at its discretion and without compensation, all information submitted for identifying the winners such as photographs, their image, spoken remarks, place of residence or statements made by them when prizes are awarded.
  10. By entering the contest, contestants agree to these contest rules. All decisions made by representatives of DID, or where applicable its partners, with respect to this contest shall be final and without appeal.
  11. Any false statement or refusal to meet the requirements of the contest by a contestant shall automatically result in disqualification from the contest.
  12. For the purposes of these rules, a contestant shall be the person whose name is given when registering for the virtual rally. This contest is governed exclusively by Canadian law regardless of any conflict in jurisdiction. By entering the contest, each contestant fully and irrevocably acknowledges the jurisdiction of courts in Quebec, Canada. This contest shall be considered null and void where prohibited by law or where the law sets additional or conditions other than those prescribed in these contest rules and it is incumbent on each contestant to make all necessary efforts to meet the applicable eligibility requirements for the contest.

Our previous winners…
what do they have to say?

Vietnam 2011 Winners

Vietnam (2011)

 Burkina 2010 Winners

Burkina Faso (2010)

 Mexique 2009 Winners

Mexique (2009)

 Tanzanie 2008 Winners

Tanzanie (2008)

Paraguay 2007 Winners

Paraguay (2007)
logo COOPSCO logo Canadian International Developpement Agency
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Claudine Turcotte, Catherine St-Pierre, Caroline Simard, David Emmanuel Hatier, Hélène Munger and Dany Richard
Winners of the 5th annual DoingMyPart.Coop contest (2010-2011)

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“It transformed us!” That is how David Emmanuel Hatier and Caroline Simard described their awareness tour in Vietnam from June 10 to 19 as the grand prize winners of the fifth annual DoingMyPart.Coop contest organized by Développement international Desjardins (DID).

They were accompanied by two board members and two employees from Desjardins cooperatives: Hélène Munger, a young board member with the Caisse Desjardins des Chutes de Montmorency, Dany Richard, a young board member with the Caisse Desjardins d’Aylmer, Claudine Turcotte, cooperative development advisor at the Caisse Desjardins du Lac-Memphrémagog and Catherine St-Pierre, a teller at the Caisse Desjardins des Verts-Sommets de l'Estrie. These four participants were chosen from participating Desjardins cooperatives.

For photos and more comments from the participants, download their trip diary!

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Mathieu Ouellette, Marie-Claude Lépine, Pierre Gauthier, Francyn Laquerre and Alexandra Boilard (missing in this photo - Martine Sirois) Winners of the 3rd annual DoingMyPart.Coop contest (2008-2009)

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To set foot in Africa, meet with Burkinans who are employees or directors of local financial cooperatives, exchange ideas with Canadian international aid workers, soak up the local culture... these were a few of the goals that Pierre, Marie-Claude, Alexandra, Francyn, Mathieu and Martine set for themselves before their departure for an awareness tour in Burkina Faso which took place from May 21 to May 30, 2010. Organized by Développement international Desjardins (DID), which has been involved in microfinance support projects in this country since 1972, the tour transformed their project into an experience they will not soon forget...

Download the First-Hand Accounts of participants to the awareness tour in Burkina Faso (May 2010)

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Richard Archambault (on the right) with two delegates from the Desjardins financial cooperatives (Karine Bernard and Nancy Soulières)
Winners of the 3rd annual DoingMyPart.Coop contest (2008-2009)

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At the heart of this mission: discovering the microfinance sector, which occupies an important place in the financial milieu of many countries, and the role and contribution of Desjardins to the financial sector, whether in the capital, Mexico City, Guadalajara or Huasteca, a rural region in the east of the country.

On the menu: visits to Mexican financial cooperatives, meetings with representatives of the federations of savings and credit cooperatives and discussions with members, employees and managers of the cooperatives.

« I had already traveled in Mexico," notes Richard Archambault, "but this time I discovered a brand new facet. It surprised me to learn that access to credit was difficult for Mexicans, and that when it was available the interest rates were very high in the banks, as high as 30%. In my opinion, the savings and credit cooperatives that we visited are a tangible alternative for meeting the challenge of access to basic financial services. ».

At the end of their trip, Richard, Karine and Nancy returned to Québec with a new feeling of pride. Richard mentions a discussion that the three had: « Before learning about DID and discovering the nature of its support to the microfinance sector in Mexico, I would have had a hard time saying what the difference was between Desjardins and Canadian banks – or in other words, how the cooperative nature of my financial institution was an advantage for me. Now, the difference is very clear! »

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Sarah Kelly and Mike Lafleur
Winners of the 2nd annual DoingMyPart.Coop contest (2007-2008)

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This is what Mike Lafleur wrote in his trip diary, on returning from Tanzania:

“When John F Kennedy famously said “a rising tide can lift all boats,” he wasn’t talking about economic development in Africa. Yet his sentiments apply very nicely to microcredit.

During my stay in Tanzania, I had the opportunity to visit several financial cooperatives throughout Dar es Salaam and hear from members and staff about their successes and challenges first hand. Members proudly shared their stories of how their businesses grew leading to subsequent loans and increased profits. Staff members in turn spoke to the steady growth of members and savings while printing off the latest reports from their desktop computers.

In a country struggling with fraud and corruption, the network of financial cooperatives was indeed acting as the ‘rising tide’ as they continue to lead the way to sustainable development through good governance, committed leadership, technological advancements, training and education and social responsibility.”

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Marie-Hélène Dufour and Jean-Sébastien Dufresne
Winners of the 1st DoingMyPart.Coop contest (2006-2007)

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This international development awareness tour was offered by DID to the grand prize winners. It enabled Marie-Hélène and Jean-Sébastien to travel to the capital Asunción where they visited four cooperative financial institutions belonging to the CENCOPAN network to which DID microfinance experts-advisors provided technical assistance.

In her trip diary, Marie-Hélène noted that she learned the importance, when providing support to developing countries, of adapting both the process and resources to the local needs of the financial sector in the country being supported.

"Visiting the CENCOPAN financial cooperatives, I learned a great deal about microfinance, how it operates and its impact, which is significant. In addition, I was able to see the tangible effects of Desjardins activities in Paraguay on the development of microfinance."

Marie-Hélène and Jean-Sébastien, who were already involved in international development projects, had the opportunity to add to their experience and open themselves to new realities in the sector.

In her journal, Marie-Hélène expressed it in these words: "What I have learned, are methods for intervention that I could replicate in development projects in Québec and abroad. Even if my projects will be mainly in the health sector, because I am studying medicine, certain concepts concerning interaction between cultures remain applicable. Especially since I believe that the accessibility of health care is very often closely linked to the accessibility of financial resources."